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Comment by redheadlass on April 23, 2018 at 6:26pm

Tricia M: your son sounds very accomplished and you must be quite a proud mother!

Comment by redheadlass on April 23, 2018 at 6:22pm

And FYI, my son is fully committed to becoming a Naval Aviator. I am sorry if I gave you the impression otherwise... 

Comment by redheadlass on April 23, 2018 at 6:21pm

Tricia and Andy's Mom: Sure,  I appreciate what you are saying. I am sure if it came to an earlier date, he would do it, but he does have a full time job with a major aerospace company and even if the other things were true, he would have to give them an appropriate amount of notice.  Were your sons employed at the time of their selection? 

Comment by Andy'sMom on April 23, 2018 at 5:26pm

TriciaM, 

Well said. I am in complete agreement.

Comment by TriciaM on April 23, 2018 at 4:28pm

For rousse54I would offer a bit of advice.  if the Navy gives him an earlier start date all those reasons you gave for not being something he can miss are not valid to the Navy.  They may take that as a sign he is not fully dedicated  Flying for the Navy.  Your recruiter is not the one that evaluates the level of dedication to making it.  My son was delayed by 9/11 he was called up  for a date, reported for his physical immediately  and then Navy faced an emergency - retraining jet reservists coming back in  on orders.took almost two years  before they set a new date for jet spots.  because the delay was caused by  Navy needs they gave him a waiver on age etc, but he was zealous in staying in touch with his recruiter.  to keep him interested the Navy did reach out and gave him visits to Pensacola , had a group pf guys like him actually in trainers props  flying from Jacksonville to Pensacola etc. But they could have just as easily decided he was not ready to go instantly and dropped him from  everything. He was a fully trained  ifr pilot and had done some amazing flying  in college  and an internship with NTSB, but the delayed was grating on all of us . we, I was  a military brat,  held our breath for a long two years .  Today he  is still a combat F-18 pilot , flies weekly in a dual job placement and is on a carrier now checking out deployability readiness for the carrier  air crews.  He is a high ranking officer and his future is very bright with full flying..  I know he would not understand someone postponing a call up in what is a small number of available spots.with the highest levels of skill needed on call.

Comment by redheadlass on April 23, 2018 at 3:44pm

Thanks, Andrea S and Andy's mom. I will pass on all these suggestions to my son.  He has been doing a lot of push ups and sit ups as well as running.  I will ask him if he knows the minimums required.  The ranks and such he will have to study. He has obligations that he cannot change to accept an earlier date of OCS-a two week vacation planned already paid for and a visit from us... plus he has a full time job and he just can't give two weeks notice to them. So he is hoping July 1 stays firm.  His recruiter knows about these obligations.  We are not a military family exactly although I am a bit familiar with the Navy as my ex-brother-in-law was an Academy graduate and was in for five years, but he was not an aviator. 

Comment by Andrea S on April 23, 2018 at 3:38pm

My son was also a "pre-select" in February and was assigned a date 2 weeks later.  At first he was stressed about it but now he says he is glad he did not turn down the date (others did). Reading now where people are waiting months for a class date I am so excited he went immediately also. So like Andy'sMom said, let them know that any date is a good date.  People fall out for all sorts of reasons and the sooner you get in there the better off you are.  Also, have him prepare for the first week PT challenge: sit ups, push ups and 1 1/2 mile run. You want to be sure to be above the minimum necessary not to roll.  Your recruiter will know those numbers if you don't already.  My son went in pretty prepared (high school & collegiate athlete plus worked out 6 days a week) but when the stress kicks in, it can effect those numbers.  We are not a military family, so my son experienced a lot of stress in the first weeks but made it through. 
We are looking forward to graduation on May 18th!!!  Good luck to your son!!

Comment by Andy'sMom on April 23, 2018 at 2:55pm

Welcome, reusse54!
ulua has some very smart suggestions. My son is 4 weeks away from graduation/commissioning at OCS. He too is 26 and going to be an aviator. The physical requirements are tough. My son was a distance runner throughout high school and college and thought he was in good shape too, but the pushups killed him! You can search for the OCTN physical readiness program for complete info. He will also need to know ranks and rates and other such things all while under stress. I heard it refered to as "Appendix B". He should ask his recruiter. As to start dates, my son was pre-selected in the beginning of Feb and told his recruiter that he could go any time. There are times when a spot opens up and if your son indicates he can "go on a dime", he could get one of those spots. That's what happened with my son. Accepted on Feb 2 and 2 weeks later given a start date of Fed 25! Good luck to him and you!

Comment by ulua on April 23, 2018 at 10:18am

My sons start date was pushed back 3 months which is pretty common. The funny part now is he looks back on how much he worried over the delay and was stressed. That  3 month delay pre-OCS was the longest stretch of free time he’s had in 7 years!

it will work out! He will get there and you will be in Newport, RI to watch his first salute. 

Comment by redheadlass on April 23, 2018 at 9:24am

Thanks so much, ulua! My son is very exciting! Those are excellent suggestions! I will pass them on to him. He has always worked out, so do not think that will be much of a problem. He has been running a lot, used to swim a lot when he had a pool at his old apartment.  I hope the start date of OCS does not get pushed back, as he is already 26 and must be commissioned by February 2019.  Going to look into getting those books to read....

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